Current NIH Trainees
Bridgit Foss, NIH Trainee 2026-2027
bfoss@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Lab: Cornelison
Research: Investigating the role of fluid mechanosensation in
astrocytes on the blood brain barrier in vitro.
Yvette Park, NIH Trainee 2026
ygpark@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Plant Biology
Lab: Fritz-Laylin
Research: I work with Naegleria, a freshwater-soil amoeba capable of transient differentiation in response to the environment. I’m studying amoeba-flagellate behaviors while developing genetic research tools.
Madison Newman, NIH Trainee 2026
mrnewman@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Lab: Li-Jun Ma
Research:
Imani Page, NIH Trainee 2026
ipage@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Polymer Science and Engineering
Lab: Emerick
Research:
Jessica Roy, NIH Trainee 2026-2027
jlroy@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Lab: Rauch and Babbitt
Research: Investigating cellular & molecular difference between species in response to tau pathology
Hyejin Yoon, NIH Trainee 2026-2027
hyejinyoon@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Lab: Lee
Research: Developing bone and cartilage organoids for disease modeling and drug testing.
Andrew Parker, NIH Trainee 2026-2027
asparker@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Lab: Kulkarni
Research: My research investigates novel immunoengineering technologies that utilize lipid nanoparticle vehicles for the delivery of mRNA therapeutics into neutrophil cells, aiming to modulate the inflammasome responsible for inflammatory diseases.
Matt Hinderhofer, NIH Trainee 2026
UMass Fellow 2024-2025
mhinderhofer@umass.edu
Graduate Program: BMB
Lab: ChangHui Pak
Research: Investigating the role of alternative splicing in neurodevelopmental disorders through an iPSC-derived brain organoid model.
Adam Lynch, NIH Trainee 2024-2025
aclynch@cns.umass.edu
Graduate Program: BME
Lab: Leonid Pobezinsky
Research: Researching T cell fate decisions and the mechanisms behind them.
Chanelle Moise, NIH Trainee 2024-2025
camoise@umass.edu
Graduate Program: BME
Lab: Cathal Kearney
Research: Investigating the role of circadian rhythms and chronotherapy in skin wound healing by evaluating immune differences in order to develop a nanoparticle delivery system to aid in faster healing wounds.
Sarah Mirza, NIH Trainee 2024-2025
smirza@umass.edu
Graduate Program: VASCI
Lab: Jesse Mager
Research: Investigating spatial patterns of differentially expressed genes in early mouse development.
Thomas Laskarzewski, NIH Trainee 2024-2025
tlaskarzewsk@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Biology
Lab: Thomas Maresca
Research: Emergent properties of intrinsically disordered proteins allow for a top down approach to kinetochore structure.
Current UMass Fellows
Aniruthan Saravanan, UMass Fellow 2026-2027
asaravanan@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Lab: Jimenez
Research: Understanding molecular mechanisms of flow-mediated endothelial dysfunction. Characterizing the thrombogenic shortcomings of varied stent surface coatings.
Luying (Louise) He, UMass Fellow 2026-2027
luyinghe@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Materials Science and Engineering
Lab: Schiffman
Research: Sustainable membrane materials, with an emphasis on bio-derived non-woven membranes for water purification and environmental applications.
Bismark Minnah, UMass Fellow 2026-2027
bminnah@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Lab: Rothchild
Research:
Laura Casado Mayo, UMass Fellow 2026-2027
lcasadomayo@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Biomedical Engineering
Lab: Kearney
Research: Investigating how aging impairs skin wound healing, and which youth-associated molecular signals are lost with age.
Yi-Hao Hsu, UMass Fellow 2026-2027
yihaohsu@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Molecular and Cellular Biology
Lab: Lee
Research: Development of vascularized bone and marrow organoids
Augustine Sobo, UMass Fellow 2024-2025
asobo@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Micro
Lab: Alicia Timme-Laragy
Research: Evaluating the effects of developmental Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid exposure on pancreatic islet vascularization in zebrafish (Danio rerio).
Melanie Wu, UMass Fellow 2024-2025
siyuanwu@mcb.umass.edu
Graduate Program: BMB
Lab: Li-Jun Ma
Research: Investigation of antifungal drug mechanism and host-fungal interaction for human pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum
Muhammad Rahat, UMass Fellow 2024-2025
mrahat@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Chemistry
Lab: Jeanne Hardy
Research: Dual Action Small Molecules Targeting Chikungunya Virus Protease: Inhibition
and Degradation
Aniruddha Pinjari, UMass Fellow 2024-2025
apinjari@umass.edu
Graduate Program: Chemical Engineering
Lab: Ashish Kulkarni
Research: Engineering Adjuvants for Nanoparticle-based Therapeutic mRNA Vaccines